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This article examines the factors that influence two important areas of state tax policy—the adoption of an income tax as well as whether a state permits deducting federal income taxes against state individual income taxes. We focus on a factor that has largely been unexplored, the flow of income going to the Top 1% of earners. Using data from two different time periods (1916-1937 and 1960-2003), we find that the share of income received by the richest 1% of taxpayers corresponds with both the likelihood states will adopt an income tax as well as whether states allow deductions of federal income tax against state individual income taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the author's insights on hip-hop within the Latin American culture. Among the topics discussed by the author include Afro-Colombian traditional music and dance, cultural production and practices in Latin America, and difference of Latin American cultural studies and traditional Latin American.

Abstract Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (or TRAP) laws impose medically unnecessary and burdensome regulations solely on abortion providers in order to make abortion services more expensive and difficult to obtain. Using event history analysis, this article examines the determinants of the enactment of a TRAP law by states over the period 1974-2008. The empirical results find that Republican institutional control of a state's legislative/executive branches is positively associated with a state enacting a TRAP law, while Democratic institutional control is negatively associated with a state enacting a TRAP law. The percentage of a state's population that is Catholic, public anti-abortion attitudes, state political ideology, and the abortion rate in a state are statistically insignificant predictors of a state enacting a TRAP law. The empirical results are consistent with the hypothesis that abortion is a redistributive issue and not a morality issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the process by which state legislators respond to the public's preferences about abortion policy over time. We examine the determinants of the enactment by a state of a parental involvement law employing the event history analysis approach. The empirical results suggest that, in the short-term,. neither the public's abortion preferences nor institutional control of state government by the generally prolife Republican Party has a significant impact on the enactment of a parental involvement law, while institutional control by the generally prochoice Democratic Party significantly decreases the likelihood of the passage of a parental involvement law. In the long- term, the public's abortion preferences are positively associated with the enactment of a parental involvement law. However, when the Republican Party or the Democratic Party have institutional control of the executive and legislative branches of state government, this allows each political party to support or oppose the enactment of a parental involvement law consistent with each party's public position on the abortion issue, regardless of the public's abortion preferences or the competitive electoral environment. The empirical results remain robust for a variety of alternative specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the relation between constituent diversity and the United States Congress' vote on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Importance of constituent ideology; Influence of public opinion on roll call votes; Measures of constituent ideology and opinion; Logistic regression of NAFTA on constituency influences; Influence of constituents on legislator's behavior.

Political action has affected postwar income distribution in the United States mainly through policy-induced variations in macroeconomic activity and government transfer benefits in proportion to total income. We present a small dynamic model of the connections among the partisan balance of power, macro-economic fluctuations, transfer spending trends, and income distribution outcomes. The model is based on the premise that the parties have different distributional goals, and it is designed to identify how shifts in party control of the presidency and the strength of the parties in Congress have affected the distribution of after-tax, after-transfer income by influencing cyclical economic performance and the flow of resources to transfer programs. We therefore extend the "partisan theory" of macroeconomic policy to the domain of income distribution outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the relationship between the racially disproportionate effects of the death penalty and a subsequent attempt in the United States Senate to provide racial justice protection. Reasons for the negative relationship between disproportionate outcomes and willingness to avert such outcomes; Data on the political philosophy of the senators to overcome effects of racial discrimination than liberals; Results of the logit analysis on the issue.

Examines senatorial support for the McCain/ Feingold measure that would establish voluntary spending limits on United States Senate candidates and ban unlimited campaign contributions through political party organizations. Party affiliation and ideology; Significance of electoral security; Measuring electoral self-interest of legislators.

Examines the impact of legislator and constituency ideology on voting on the assault weapons ban. Empirical model and results; Logit estimates of senate votes cast; Research implications.

Looks at the legislator's behavior explained through the median voter model. Testing on bimodal issues; Applicability of median voter model; Attitudinal measures used; Reference to 1994 Freedom of Abortion Access bill.